“Can we move nations
and people in the direction of sustainability? Such a move would be a
modification of society comparable in scale to only two other changes:
the Agricultural Revolution of the late Neolithic, and the Industrial
Revolution of the past two centuries. These revolutions were gradual,
spontaneous, and largely unconscious. This one will have to be a fully
conscious operation, guided by the foresight that science can provide.
If we actually do it, the undertaking will be absolutely unique in humanity’s
stay on Earth.”

William D. Ruckleshaus,
Head of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 1970-73